The Senate Committee recommends a four-day work week trial and year of paid parental leave. They believe we must think about changing the caring arrangements to value our work. They had a wide look at the current system and its impacts on people’s lives.
The committee made 33 recommendations in the final report. It mainly focuses on improving people’s lives and providing more support in a range of areas. Four of the changes that they recommend besides other changes includes; four-day work-week trial, A year of paid parental leave, Increase carers pay, and program for young carers.
Meanwhile, these recommendations are not sure things. As the economic reality of implementing all of them seems pretty much impossible.
Four-day work-week trial
According to the Senate committee, the government should give its own four-day work -week trial a go. Since there are private businesses who are in the process of trial. Meanwhile, it would be a big step if the federal government begins it.
The committee suggests to use the 100:80:100 model:”Whereby employees retain 100 per cent of the salary while reducing their hours to 80 percent while maintaining 100 percent productivity.”
The recommendation was to involve a university to measure the trial’s impact.The measurement should include people’s wellbeing and the division of unpaid care between genders.The university will assess whether the trial brings any changes.
Right to disconnect
The Fair Work Commission should review the 38-hour work week, according to the committee’s recommendation.The committee also proposed assessing if businesses need stricter penalties for making employees work extended hours.
Additionally, the committee suggested the government should explore adding the “right to disconnect” to the law. Employers must avoid contacting workers outside of working hours unless there is an emergency.
Besides, a year of paid parental leave and increased young carers pay as part of these recommendations may become policy any time soon. However, there are constraints , as government members Dehorah O’Neill, Jana Stewart and Linda White said: “The fiscal reality necessarily imposes constraints on social policy.”
